


Who Are You When I'm Not Looking

by LoneWolfWriter



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Banditos are too, Detective Nicole Haught, F/F, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Kidnapped/Missing/Different Identity AU, Like really slow, Not Your Conventional Fic, Not exactly a romance fic, Revenants are a Gang, Romance near the end though, Slow Burn, Sorry Not Sorry, Wayhaught endgame
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-02-18 23:13:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22001407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoneWolfWriter/pseuds/LoneWolfWriter
Summary: “What if she escaped?” Nicole asked.“Excuse me?”“What if she escaped from her captures and figured that going home wasn’t the best option knowing that would be the first place they would look for her?”“It’s possible, but why do you ask?” Intrigued by the possibility, Sheriff Nedley looked at the detective and noticed she was staring at the picture.Nicole, not bothering to look back up as she traced her finger over the picture; her voice soft but loud enough for the Sheriff to hear. “Because I have every reason to believe that I know who this girl is, but Waverly Earp isn't the name I know her as.”
Relationships: Waverly Earp & Chrissy Nedley, Waverly Earp & Curtis McCready, Waverly Earp & Gus McCready, Waverly Earp & Nicole Haught, Waverly Earp/Nicole Haught, Willa Earp & Wynonna Earp
Comments: 52
Kudos: 123





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DomHaught](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DomHaught/gifts), [Louhaught](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Louhaught/gifts), [kmvb](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kmvb/gifts).



> To @DomHaught, thank you so much for bouncing ideas around with me. You helped me create this story and I couldn’t be more grateful. 
> 
> Welcome to the newest fic I've been working on since February(2019)! This story originally was supposed to canon. My mind asked: What if Waverly was the one who was taken from the Homestead instead of Willa. My Muse decided to turn it into an alternate universe fic and I'm not even sorry about it. Go where the muse takes you, right? So this is where we are.
> 
> **Before you start reading** , if you skimmed through the tags lets me refresh what is there. THIS IS NOT A ROMANCE STORY! If you are expecting it to be, turn back now. (At least I don’t think it’ll become a romance story) Waverly and Nicole are... well, you find out as you read. You'll learn to hate me as we get further into the story and then towards the end, it might be all worth it. I don't know what the fuck I'm saying, honestly. 
> 
> Now, this fic will bring you on a journey and if you hate it, keep your comments to yourself. I don't need that kind of negativity in my life. 
> 
> All mistakes are my own! 
> 
> Waverly is 16. Wynonna is 22 and Willa is 23, in the beginning.

Life at home was miserable; Waverly’s father was a drunk. He made a habit out of spending his paycheck at the local bar or gambling it away at poker. Then he started playing cards without so much as a dime to his name. He began making promises he couldn’t keep, and those who played against him knew damn well he would never hold up on his end of the bargain. Sadly, that didn’t stop people from collecting the money that was owed to them.

Motorcycle engines roared louder as they got closer to the Earp homestead. The old ranch style home was silent, and as the sound coming from outside grew, those who lived inside the house became worried. Hearts pounding in their chests so loud they nearly drowned out the sound of the engines.

The motorcycles stopped just outside the homestead and all fell silent. Ward, who passed out drunk on the couch, continued to do nothing but snore. His three daughters, on the other hand, were all trying to breathe through their noses, so they didn’t make much sound. They all could pretend that they weren’t home, but the lights illuminated the entire homestead, so all they could do was wait.

Willa, the oldest sister at 23, took it upon herself to check on their father. Signaling for her younger sisters to stay put, she left the upstairs bedroom and headed towards the stairs. Wynonna, a year younger but just as determined, tip-toed over to the closet to grab the saw-offed shotgun kept hidden there. “Wouldn’t be Earp’s if guns weren’t hidden all over the damn house!” Waverly heard her older sister mumble.

Just as Wynonna turned back around, the sound of men yelling erupted through the home, and then shots were being fired. “Get out of here, baby girl!” The middle Earp ran towards the bedroom door. “Go now, Waverly. Whoever is here, they ain’t friendly.”

“What about you?” Waverly shot up from her spot on the floor and grabbed ahold of Wynonna’s wrist.

“I have to check on Willa and Daddy.” The youngest Earp watched her sister slip from the door, and it took half a second for her brain to catch up before going over to the closet and grabbing her backpack.

More gunshots rang out as Waverly scrambled over to her dresser and grabbed whatever clothes she could get her hands on including a small brown paper bag filled with money; how much, the sixteen-year-old wasn’t sure. It had been a while since she’d counted it last. Shaking out her thoughts, she ran out of the room and to the bathroom, stopping in front of the medicine cabinet; the brunette could have sworn she heard Wynonna yell ‘run,’ but it was too muffed. Taking whatever her hands could get ahold of, Waverly bolted back out of the bathroom but came to an abrupt stop with a gasp.  _ Guess Wynonna did tell me to run. Oops! _

“Going somewhere, little girl?” The man grinned devilishly. He had long blondish-brown hair, a grayish goatee and an eye patch over his left eye. Waverly instantly knew him as one of the members of the Revenant Gang, Malcolm Ramaker.

Before the brunette could respond, Malcolm grabbed ahold of her. Waverly fought against him as best she could, but to no avail, she wasn’t strong enough. The teenager tried kicking him in any and every direction her feet could manage, but the man just held down her legs and tightened his grip. Once Waverly realized it was no use, she did the only thing she could do at that point.

“WYNONNA!” Waverly screamed at the top of her lungs. “Daddy, Willa! Help!”

“Waverly!” Wynonna responded, but it still sounded muffled.

Malcolm walked down the stairs, laughing at the scene in the living room. Ward was on the floor, bleeding. Willa was in a tight hold by another man, with a gun pointed to her head. Wynonna wasn’t too far from Willa and was also being held onto by another gang member. Waverly looked at both her sisters, they each sported split lips and shiners on their right eye. Both their clothes stained in blood, mostly likely Ward’s, Waverly thought. She glanced over at her father and the excessive amount of blood that was pooling around him and assumed he was dead.

“You two will get me the money that your dear father owed me.” A man with a Mohawk and beard growled out. The fur coat he wore made him look more menacing than ridiculous.

“Go to hell, Bobo!” Willa growled. “You just killed him. That means we have paid your debt.”

“Don’t think so. That doesn’t put cash in my hands and Ward here,” Bobo gestured to the man bleeding out on the floor. “Owes me quite a bit. Unpaid debt for his tab, on top of his gambling problem. He owes my boys and me so much. I want it all back.”

“Fuck off, you shit ticket!” Wynonna yelled. “You’ll never get a cent out of us.”

“I figured you’d say that. Malcolm? Escort Ward’s youngest outside.”

In a blink of an eye, Waverly was being shuffled out of the house. She heard her sisters screaming her name and demanding Bobo let her go, but the man ignored them. The air was cold against the brunettes exposed skin, though that didn’t matter. What did, was the two other men approaching her with rope, what appeared to be duct tape and some type of bag? Waverly went to fight against Malcolm again, but before she could, a fist connected with her face and everything went black.

**____________________**

**1 Year Later:**

  
  


It felt like hours, even days before Waverly had woken up from being jostled around the trunk of a vehicle. During her “road trip” Waverly reflected on everything that had happened. A blonde woman breaking into the abandoned building Bobo had kept her in, to being kidnapped again by said woman, who went by the name of Constance Clootie. After being crammed into the trunk of a pink Cadillac, Waverly wondered what she did in the last seventeen years to deserve to be thrown around like a rag doll. She tried to come up with ideas to escape but with the lack of oxygen, and the smell of alcohol heavy enough to make a burning brewery smell like roses, Waverly couldn’t think clearly to save her soul.

At some point, Waverly started counting. Every time the car made a turn, she would recalculate again and filed the last number away; hoping it would be of use for her later. Waverly did her best in figuring out what direction they were heading in. Left, twenty-seconds, right, sixty-seconds, another right, so on so forth. It reminded her of a roller coaster ride. So many twists and turns that you eventually forget where you’re and enjoy the ride. Sadly, Waverly would never enjoy it knowing that the beginning of that ride would not end in the same location.

_ Wrists tied behind my back. Ankles tied together though I can move my legs _ … Waverly shuffled herself onto her back, crushing her wrists into the trunk but she didn’t care, she had to get away, no matter what the cost was. She moved a little more and felt a sharp edge that caused pain in her arm.  _ A knife, just what I need! _ It took a bit of time, but Waverly could grab the knife and cut the rope that bounded her wrists together. Once free, she cut the tie around her ankles and then stopped. Waverly listened carefully to hear any noise coming from inside the car, and noted that there were at least two men, talking loudly and had a thing for… Rihanna? The music and the talking were so loud, Waverly was positive that some thudding noise would go unnoticed.

Sure enough, Waverly was right. After a few hard kicks, the door to the trunk swung open. Waverly had seconds to complete her plan; it wasn’t much of one but it was the only one she could come up with. Maneuvering herself onto her knees, the teenager bashed her head against the door to reopen it then used her hands and feet to push herself out of the trunk, barreling onto the pavement.

There was no time to react or feel pain; Waverly had to get to her feet and run, and that's precisely what she did. The sound of a car coming to a screeching halt jolted the brunette to move faster. She had rolled a few times when she hit the pavement, so her arms and legs were killing her though that detail was minor compared to being actually killed by Clootie’s goons. With her jeans and shirt slightly ripped, skin scraped with blood trickling down and staining her clothes, Waverly pushed on.

And so she ran. Waverly had no clue where she was or where she was going but one thing was for sure, she had to continue running. No matter how badly her legs hurt, she had to keep pushing forward. She thought about changing her direction, taking a left turn or a right, but figured whoever was chasing after her would catch her. The only logical thing to do was to run straight. 

In the darkest of night, the leaves on the trees making it so the moon couldn’t give her any type of light, Waverly did her best to see what was directly in front of her. Branches hitting her face, falling over a tree causing her to trip and losing a shoe in the process. A second later and the other shoe joined the other, leaving sock covered feet to protect whatever came next in the woods.

Waverly ran faster than she ever had in her life. She wasn’t sure if the men in the car were still following her, but she wasn’t about to stop to find out either.  _ I have to get away, I can’t turn back or go any direction. They’ll catch me if I do! _ Waverly thought. The woods ended and became a wide-open land where anyone could see her. That’s when the brunette noticed it. The sun creeping over the horizon, rays of pink and orange hues in the sky, becoming a reflection not too far off in the distance; the sun barely met the top of the cliff Waverly was sprinting on. This also meant one thing; Waverly was running out of land to run on and had to make a decision of a lifetime.

She skidded to the edge of the cliff, looked down and gulped.  _ That is a long way down! _ It was intimidating and terrifying and could very well result in death if Waverly jumped. Her mind raced with endless scenarios of what would happen.  _ Turn left, they’ll catch me. Turn right, they could still get me. I can’t run back the way I came because that would guarantee in them finding me. I only have one-way t-. _

“I can see her!” A gruff voice echoed through the woods.

Waverly froze. Blood ran cold, and the only sound clear was the pounding in her chest that vibrated throughout her entire body. She willed herself to move, but it was like her feet became cemented to the ground. The brunette could hear the men rustling through the trees, yet she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“We have her now, boy’s!” The same male voice rang out, but Waverly ignored it.

_ Only one way to go. _ Waverly took three steps back and then ran forward, pushing her feet off the edge of the cliff as she jumped.

**____________________**

  
  


The day had started out well; everything was going according to plan, and another shipment from Mars had come in. Bobo had just come back from the border between the states and Canada. He had another meeting with Bulshar Clootie. Though Bobo hated working with the man, Bulshar was a valuable asset to his and his brother's gangs. When the day finally ended, Bobo slammed the door closed to his single-wide trailer and walked over to the fridge to grab a beer. After shutting it, he went over to his couch and slumped down onto it. His body felt drained; so many of his men caused problems that ended with Sheriff Nedley coming out and threatening to arrest them. Bobo couldn’t help but laugh at the man. 

Bobo Del Rey was the kind of man to be feared. The way he walked with his chest always puffed out to show his dominance and how he growled every time he talked. People would turn away from him as quickly as possible, hoping to never see him again. Some would say that if they had tails, it’d be tucked between their legs while running in the opposite direction. Everyone in the town of Purgatory knew not to mess with Bobo and to never to do business with him, but that didn’t always work out the way people wanted.

After finding out that the previous Sheriff, Ward Earp, needed money and his father started giving the idiot “loans” to help pay for his drinking ways, instead of taking care of kids, he knew that was his ticket to making a boatload of money. The thing was, Bobo didn’t plan on killing Ward, but after the man shot at him and almost succeeded at putting a bullet in him, that was when Bobo lifted his own gun and fired. Moments later, the oldest daughter, Willa, came down the stairs, shooting her own gun. Wynonna, who also carried a weapon of her own, soon followed her. The whole ordeal became a mess, but an idea hit rather quickly.

Ordering Malcolm to retrieve Waverly, his angel, was the right choice. With Ward dead, he needed a new way to make his money. Stealing the girl and making the older sisters come up with a way to pay him back was the perfect plan. That night Bobo promised Willa and Wynonna that he wouldn’t hurt the youngest as long as the two cooperated, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t rough the girls up in thinking he would go against his word.

Unfortunately, after the first year went by, Bobo started to get relentless. Willa and Wynonna weren’t holding up their end of the bargain. The two had a limit to how much was supposed to be paid, or at least how much the Del Rey brothers were expecting to get within the first year. It wasn’t  _ that _ much. Ward had borrowed approximately a hundred grand though the girls didn’t know that. Asking for ten times the amount seemed like a reasonable deal if it meant getting free money out of it.

Bobo’s cell started ringing, causing him to wake with a jolt. He groaned when he saw that it was his brother, calling him at an ungodly hour. “What!” Bobo growled.

“We have a situation.” Mars panicked.

The gang leader sat up quickly and gripped his phone. “What kind of situation, Mars?”

“She’s gone. The girl is missing.”

“What the hell are you talking about? I just checked on her this morning. She was exactly where I put her.”

“Bobo, I’m standing in the abandoned building you picked, and she’s not here! Someone knew where she was, took her, and in the process, the bastards killed a few of my men!” Mars whined.

Clenching onto his phone, Bobo could feel his face heating from pure anger. Someone figured out where he had placed Waverly. No one but him, Mars, and a few of his men knew about that location. He shouted into the cell, telling his brother that he would be there soon. Bobo ended the call, jumped up from the couch, threw his phone at the wall, and watched as it shattered into pieces. His breathing got heavier, and before he knew it, Bobo was throwing anything and everything he could get his hands on.

  
  


* * * * *   
  


It didn’t take long for Bobo to pull onto the road that the abandoned building was on. The arrow on the speedometer pointed at a hundred the entire way there. How he never got pulled over was beyond him, though whatever cop dared to stop him would have ended up dead. There was no telling what Bobo might have done when he was too busy figuring out which person was stupid enough to steal from him. Waverly Earp was his bargaining chip, and without her, he no longer had any leverage on the Earp sisters.

A thought came across Bobo’s mind. For the past week, Willa and Wynonna had acted differently. They started showing more confidence whenever he spotted the girls walking around town. Over the last year, they had been miserable, and it showed. The middle Earp began drinking more, and it was possible that she surpassed the amount of whiskey Ward would consume in a day. While Wynonna spiraled out of control, the oldest kept a level head and was making money to pay off the Del Rey brothers. Yet, there was just something off, that bothered Bobo immensely, that he couldn’t figure out. The thought evaporated just as quickly as it came when Bobo remembered that his men were watching the Earp girls and had constant updates on them. So their confident streak had to be related to something else. 

The abandoned building came into view, and Bobo questioned himself why he picked a location so far away. If he had driven any slower, it would have taken him two hours longer to get there. It was the fourth place he had moved Waverly too. There was always a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that someone would find the girl and the whole operation would be a bust. Newly acquainted Sheriff Randy Nedley was adamant about helping the Earp girls. Bobo told them not to get the police involved, but it had seemed that after not seeing the literal ray of sunshine at his house all the time, because Waverly was best friends with the Sheriff’s daughter, Nedley knew something was wrong and started an investigation all on his own.

Bobo kicked out his kickstand on this Harley. He winced when he realized what he had done. The Harley Davidson was his prize possession, and he always took better care of the bike than anything else he owned ironically. Bobo squared his shoulders and stormed towards the building, taking in the scene in front of him. There were tracks left in the dirt, undoubtedly made by a car; Who was driving was still unknown? He knew for a fact that none of his men took Waverly since all of them owned motorcycles and would have had to steal a car to get their hands on a vehicle. Bobo also knew that all the other gang members, though not too bright, were smart enough to never double-cross him.

As he approached the door, Bobo came face to face with his brother. “About time you arrived!” Mars growled. “What the hell were you thinking, Bobo? Moving her, again? The fuck was wrong with the last place that actually had a security system instead of this ancient, outdated place?”

“The cops are searching, and you damn well knew that! Keeping the Earp girl in the same place is too risky of someone finding her.” Bobo glared at his brother.

“Well, someone found her anyway, now didn’t they?” Though it was a rhetorical question, Mars was expecting his younger brother to answer. “Who would have known that she was here, beside my men (that are now dead) and us?” he asked. “The Earp sisters?”

“Impossible! They haven’t left Purgatory in over a month, there’s no fucking way they would have known where I was hiding their sister.”

“Who would have known, then? Huh?” Mars yelled, making his words echo off the walls of the building.

“I don’t fucking know, but whoever did will wish that they never crossed Bobo Del Rey.” The revenant gang leader turned on his heels and walked out the building, with Mars quickly following behind him.

“Where the hell are you going now?”

Though Bobo didn’t have the slightest idea what he was about to get himself into, he honestly didn’t care. If the Earp sisters found out that he had lost Waverly, then he and Mars wouldn’t get any more money from them. That was a risk that he wasn’t willing to take, so he had to do whatever it took to get Waverly back. What Bobo wasn’t sure yet, but somehow his meeting with Bulshar Clootie that morning would not be his last one, unfortunately.

Bobo turned back around and faced Mars. “We need that girl back, and I will find her.”

“And if you don’t?”

“There is no _don’t!_ I won’t stop searching until I have Waverly Earp back as my prisoner and I will do whatever it takes to make that happen!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So at a show of hands, how many of you want to throw me off the cliff Waverly jumped off of? Don't worry, it gets worse before it gets better. Sorry.
> 
> Actually, I'm not sorry at all.


	2. Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly jumped off a cliff... let's see how she's doing, shall we?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To those who are new to my writing, as a key bit of information, I like to leave easter eggs in my chapters that will be seen later on in the story. This chapter, in particular, there are a couple to look out for.

When she was younger, Waverly learned how to hold her breath for long periods of time. It was a game Wynonna came up with and convinced both her and Willa to play. In the beginning, they’d all hold their breath for a minute, then two minutes, so on and so forth. Wynonna had suspiciously gotten better, faster than her siblings. Willa quickly caught on to Wynonna’s sneaky ways on how she could hold her breath up to ten minutes at a time. Come to find out, her sister was secretly breathing through her nose, a minor trick both Willa and Waverly failed to notice. The next time they played the game, Willa grabbed ahold of Wynonna’s nose, and her face turned blue rather quickly. In hindsight, the game ultimately saved Waverly’s life.

Being underwater for over five minutes is a long time for someone. If that person stayed under any longer and didn’t come up for air, then there probably was an issue. More often than not, after a couple of minutes, someone would have dove into the water making sure that person was fine. Yet, Clootie’s goons who stood at the edge of the cliff, looking for signs of life, weren’t efficient in their swimming capabilities.

Six minutes passed before Waverly broke through the surface to get much-needed air into her lungs. Jumping off the cliff was a risk, but it was the only way to get away from Constance Clootie. She didn’t have a clue who the woman was, but if Constance knew Mars and Bobo, it meant she wasn’t someone Waverly wanted to be around. A long time ago, Waverly learned not to associate herself with anyone who knew the Del Reys. Even if Constance did ‘rescue’ Waverly from being Bobo’s prisoner, she didn’t want to be hers either just so Constance could have the upper hand on them instead. Waverly stayed above the surface just long enough to put oxygen back into her lungs before ducking back under the water and swimming away from the cliff. She repeated the process until she was on the other side of the lake where she finally saw land. It took forever to get there, but it was the only way for Waverly to escape.

Dirt stuck to her cold, wet hands as Waverly crawled up the shore. With what little clothes she had on, she slowly tried to peel them off and wring them out. The last thing Waverly needed was soaked clothes slowing her down. Every few seconds she looked around making sure no one was watching. After getting most of the water wrung out, Waverly carefully slipped her clothes back on and stared out at the lake. She saw the reflection of the sun and trees and feared what would stare back at her if she looked down into the water. Would a girl of seventeen, face scarred and frightened be looking back or would it be a figment of her imagination? The thought brought Waverly to her knees as tears began to fall; body trembling as she sobbed with her face buried in her hands. Waverly couldn’t remember the last time she had cried like that; by herself where no one could be in her face, make fun of her, to spew lies to make her feel worse about the situation she was in. 

  
  


During Waverly’s _imprisonment,_ Bobo and Mars visited her often. They babbled about how her sisters had been working steadily to come up with the cash that was owed, to having a setback when they raised the dollar amount. Waverly screamed at them until she was blue in the face, calling them heartless bastards, and that it was unreasonable. Mars and Bobo laughed at her, said she was a foolish girl in believing that they wouldn’t do such a thing; they were gang leaders and could do whatever they wanted. The Del Reys owned the Earp girls, and they would continue to raise the amount until they received what they thought they deserved from Ward Earp’s mistakes.

Now, Waverly was all alone in the woods that she had never been in before, nor did she have any indication of how far away from home she was. Home. A word so foreign now that she hadn’t been there for a year. Another sob wracked through Waverly at the thought of not being with her sisters for 365 days. She wondered if Wynonna or Willa were searching for her or just gave up hope on ever finding her. Waverly wouldn’t have blamed them if they had; a year is a long time to search for someone when you don’t know where to look.

Waverly wiped her face as the sobbing subsided, then dusted her hands off before running one through her hair, brushing aside the few strands that stuck to her skin. She looked up at the sky, curious to know how to tell time from looking at the sun. Waverly knew that the day began right before she had jumped off the cliff, other than that, she had no clue how far into the morning it was. She sat on the ground and thought about everything that had happened throughout the year and one memory that stuck out that most, was that night, or the following night after Bobo had kidnapped her. Remembering how she felt and the words Bobo said to her. Unfortunately, all the details of _that night_ came flooding back as if it had happened yesterday.

* * * * *

  
  


_Trepidation. Labored breathing. Anxiety. That was all Waverly could feel. They threw her into a van with disgusting smelling men, that made a habit of getting into her personal space and_ accidentally _touching her. Waverly’s mouth was duct-taped, and all she could do was growl every time they got close to her. It never fazed them, though. They erupted in laughter, made crude remarks on how they would use her once they arrived at their location. Waverly felt her heart pound in her chest whenever the men mentioned touching her in a way only one person ever had._

_When the van finally stopped, Waverly jolted forward and ended up landing on Malcolm; the man that dragged her out of her home. He was the only one out of six men that didn’t touch her while they headed towards their destination. That detail quickly changed the second the back doors swung open to reveal another member from the Revenants._

_Malcolm maneuvered himself around Waverly and slipped out of the van. He turned and grabbed Waverly by her bounded ankles, yanking her towards him. The crisp air felt cool against her overheated skin after being squeezed between six other men with the tiniest of gaps in the driver's side window. Smelling fresh air after not having any for hours on end was refreshing for Waverly. It was, without a doubt, ten times better than smelling body odor infused with stale beer._

_With renewed energy, Waverly tried to kick and push Malcolm away from her; Unfortunately, the man had the upper hand and roughly twisted her ankles, causing her to flip onto her stomach. Waverly bashed her forehead against the metal floor of the van, groaning when she felt a headache take form. Malcolm pulled and flipped her back over, catching Waverly off guard, then grabbed hold of her arm while gripping her legs and lifted her up over his shoulder; Waverly honestly never felt more like a sack of potatoes than she did at that moment._

_She tried to scream against the duct tape, but the sounds came out muffled; almost nonexistent that no one would hear. Like a fish out of water, Waverly tried to buck herself off Malcolm’s shoulder. All ideas on how to escape once she freed herself were nowhere in sight in Waverly’s mind. Thoughts were utterly pointless when Waverly’s heartbeat was beating so rapidly that it was the only thing she could hear._

_Waverly eyes closed, desperately hoping it would help to calm her nerves, though it proved to be the wrong thing to do. A muffled gasped caught in her throat as a sharp pain coursed through her body as Malcolm slammed her into a cold metal chair. Waverly blinked twice, her eyes adjusting to the lighting in the room they brought her into. She jerked her head back when Malcolm got in her face and held her down from behind while another man, Waverly recognized him as stupid Carl, cut the ties on her wrists to only retie them to the armrests._

_After Malcolm secured Waverly to the chair and took a step back, Carl got in her face and ripped the duct tape off her mouth. Waverly drew in a deep breath before spewing at the men. “What do you want with me you filthy pigs? Where’s that ass-hat, Bobo, huh? Leave you idiots to do his dirty work?”_

_Carl went to backhand Waverly across the face but Malcolm intercepted it. “Bobo said to not touch the girl once she was here. You so much as go against him, it’ll be your funeral.” He growled in Carl’s face._

_“Fine.” Carl spatted out._

_“Hey, assholes! Yeah, I mean, all of you!” The men looked at Waverly. “Where the hell is Bobo, and what did he do to my sisters?”_

_A loud pop echoed throughout the room that caused all the men to snap their heads towards the doors. The sound of footsteps and deep, low laughter followed, as Bobo walked out of the shadows and into the light. All the gang members left, leaving the Revenant leader and Waverly all alone. “All I did was talk to them, my dear sweet angel.”_

_“Don’t call me that!” Waverly glared at him. “They’ll be coming for me, you know. My sisters won’t stop until I’m back with them, and you’re dead in a ditch somewhere.”_

_Bobo roared out laughing. “Your sisters are a little busy planning a funeral for your father to be out looking for you.”_

_“He wasn’t much of one,” Waverly mumbled under her breath. “Willa and Wynonna will come looking for me. They're my sisters, they love me.”_

_Bobo smiled wolfishly and started circling the girl. “Why would they go looking for a half-breed?” He taunted._

_“What are you talking about?” Waverly whispered. She wasn’t sure where the man was going with the conversation, but she really wasn’t liking it._

_“Your_ sisters _now owe me the money Ward couldn’t come up with.” Bobo ignored Waverly’s question and continued circling around her; twiddling with a pocket knife he took out. “Until I receive every penny that idiot loaned from me, my father and brother, you’re stuck here with me. They won't have time to search for you.”_

_“I know them. Willa and Wynonna will find a way, I know they will. I bet they’re out there right now searching for me.”_

_“Now, why is that? Why search for someone that isn’t their sister?” Bobo laughed again._

_“What?”_

_Bobo got in Waverly’s face. “My angel, you’re not even an Earp.”_

_The Revenant leader walked away, leaving Waverly flabbergasted. He laughed when he heard the girl crying, murmuring how Wynonna and Willa would find her because they loved her, no matter what any DNA said._

* * * * *

The memory caused another wave of tears to cascade down Waverly’s face. With the sun beaming down on her, making her skin flush from the heat, her body shivered at the thought of Willa and Wynonna giving up on her. As Bobo’s prisoner, Waverly often thought about how her sisters would react to her being their half-sibling. Would they have reconsidered finding her knowing she an Earp by blood? Was Waverly less important than coming up with the cash to pay off the Del Reys? Was she worth finding in the first place? Many scenarios raced through Waverly’s head, all of them leading to the same notation; she wasn’t anyone worth fighting for. All the negative thoughts got pushed to the back of her mind. There were more important things to worry about at that moment.

Waverly sniffled a few times, stood up, and attempted to dust the dirt off her clothes. She needed a plan, one that would either lead her home or further away from Purgatory. Though the first thing Waverly had to do was to figure out where the hell she was. With a newfound determination, she walked away from the lake and headed straight into the woods. Waverly took her time, being mindful of her bare feet so she wouldn’t hurt herself more than she already was; Her injuries became more noticeable after the adrenaline rush diminished. Swimming a long-distance helped her wounds stop bleeding which Waverly was thankful for.

Not knowing how long she was in the woods for, Waverly was grateful when she came to a clearing. She stayed within the tree line and looked around for any signs of anyone… Suddenly, Waverly heard a gun click; she whipped around towards the noise and froze. A woman, much older than Waverly, pointed the shotgun at her head; she slowly raised her hands in surrender and prayed she wouldn’t get shot.

“I don’t know who you are, but I will tell you this once: I don’t take kindly to having strangers on my land without permission.” The woman’s voice was stern yet was calming, had salt and pepper hair, and wasn’t much taller than Waverly.

“Please, I mean no harm.” Waverly’s voice quivered. Her eyes clouded over as a fresh wave of tears began to form.

The older woman eyed the brunette in front of her. Taking in the girl's appearance, she noticed the torn up clothes, the scrapes, and bruises, down to how thin the poor girl was; the woman wondered how long it had been since the young girl had a proper meal. There was a sense of familiarity even though the two had never met before. The woman thought she looked like her little sister that had passed away years ago and the feeling that she somehow knew her, wouldn’t go away. 

“Please, I just want to be as far away from here as possible.” Waverly pleaded.

“You hungry?” The older woman lowered her shotgun.

“Excuse me?” The sudden change in the woman’s demeanor confused Waverly.

“Food. You want some?” The woman smiled warmly and nodded her head towards the cabin that was behind her.

Waverly hesitated. The thought of food caused her stomach to growl. “Um… sure… thank you, ma’am.”

“None of that ma’am business around here, girl! The name’s Gus.” The older woman, Gus, tilted her head a little at Waverly, silently asking her for her name.

Waverly’s faltered, and her eyes widened in fear. There was a huge risk in telling Gus who she really was. If news broke out that Waverly had survived the fall, then she would forever be on the run and may never go home and see her sisters ever again. _Could I trust this stranger with the truth and simply tell her my name?_

Gus saw the hesitation and tried a different tactic. “How did you end up on my land?”

“The lake back there.” Waverly pointed behind her and winced when Gus gave her a quizzical look. “I uh… um… I jumped off the cliff on the other side.”

“You jumped?” Gus’s eyes had almost popped out her head at the realization; The girl swam almost the entire length of the lake. “Those who jump off a cliff that high are either stupid or running away from something and it was their only option.” The older woman watched the girl wince again, then saw her eyes widen even more. _The latter of the two evils, apparently!_ Gus thought. “Come on, let’s get you something to eat.”

As they reached the front steps of the cabin, a taller man with hair similar to Gus, face freshly shaved, greeted them at the door. “Sweetheart, did you figure out what you were look- oh, guess you did. Come on in, kid” The man turned back into the house, leading the pair towards the kitchen; not giving a second thought to the newcomer. 

“Coffee, darling? Kid, you want some?”

“Please.” Gus kissed her husband on the cheek before opening the refrigerator.

Waverly stood in shock. She honestly didn’t know what to make of the pair but the man was staring at her, with soft, kind eyes and then she realized that he was waiting on her answer. “Oh, um, yes, thank you, sir.”

“Call me, Curtis. I may be old, but I’m not that old… yet.” Curtis laughed lightly as he set the coffeemaker going. “You look like you’ve been through hell, kiddo.” Waverly nodded. “Ya got a name or does Kid tickle your fancy?” He cleared his throat and apologized when Gus slapped his arm. “What’s your name, sweetheart?”

Waverly hesitated again and could feel her heart beating rapidly. She wanted to bolt back out the door and run until her legs couldn’t move anymore, but the smell of fresh fruit made her stomach growl once more. It had been an entire year since she had a decent meal and Waverly was practically drooling at the thought of it. She also, selfishly, hoped that the fruit was the starting appetizers.

“You’re safe here. Whatever happened to you on the other side of that lake, ended there.” The word hopefully was on the tip of Gus’s tongue but held it back. “No one will ever know that you're here, unless you, yourself, want them to know.”

The sincerity of Gus’s statement made Waverly feel safe and could sense that she meant every word. “... Waverly.” She finally answered. “I’d tell you my last name, but right now, I’m not sure what it is anymore.” Gus placed a plate with a sandwich in front of her, and Waverly happily accepted it. “Thank you.”

“Let’s get settled in the living room. Be more comfortable for you.” Gus suggested and Waverly followed her willingly. “I’d offer you some of my clothes, but I’m not so sure that they’ll fit you. I can give one of Curtis’s shirts and a pair of sweatpants that you’ll swim in, but it’ll be better than what you’re wearing now.”

Waverly looked down at her clothes and frowned. “I’m... fine with these. Besides, you’re welcoming a complete and total stranger into your home. I don’t expect you to help me more than you already have.”

“Don’t worry about it, kid,” Curtis said as he joined them in the living room, carrying a tray with three mugs on it. “We’re more than happy to help… if you don’t mind me asking, where you from?”

“... Purgatory?”

“The small town in Canada that the Del Rey brothers took over?” Curtis asked astonished.

Waverly bolted off the couch, scanning every inch of the room, avoiding eye contact with the two strangers. “I-I have to go… now.” The fear of getting caught by Bobo or Mars came flooding back and suddenly telling the strangers her real name was a terrible idea.

As Waverly went to make a beeline for the door, Curtis gently caught her by the wrist. “As we said before, you’re safe here, and we meant it. If you’re running from the Del Reys, we can help you. We’ll keep you safe.”

“How do I know you’re telling me the truth?”

“Robert Del Rey murdered my sister years ago. If they’ve hurt you, they won't be able to anymore.” Gus spoke up and walked over to Waverly. “They’ve taken far too much here in the states, and from what I hear, a good part of Canada too.”

“The states?” Waverly questioned. “Where am I?”

“Nebraska.” Curtis simply stated. “And you are a long way from home, kid.”

“Is there anyone that you can call? A friend or a family member, to let them know that you’re safe?” Gus gently guided Waverly back down on the couch.

Waverly thought about the question. _With how much time has passed, was it a smart idea to contact anyone from home? If Gus and Curtis knew how much havoc the Del Rey’s were causing, then surely everyone else did in Purgatory, right?_ She continued to think about her options on who to call, and only one person came to mind. It was far too dangerous to call her sisters, and truthfully, there was only one person who could keep a secret better than herself and Waverly trusted them with her life.

“If you have the internet, I know who I can talk to. Also, if you know about the Del Reys, then it's obviously not safe for me to go back home yet.”

“I know we just met, but we have a spare room that you can stay in for as long as you want.” Waverly smiled at Curtis.

“Thank you, I might just take you up on that offer. First, and foremost, I need to come up with some cash. Pay for some new clothes and such.”

“Let us worry about the money part for now. You just finish eating, and then I’ll show you to your room.” Gus lightly squeezed Waverly’s hand.

Waverly smiled back at the couple beside her. It scared her to death that Bobo, Mars, or Constance Clootie would find her, but at that very moment, she felt safe. Waverly couldn’t place her finger on it, but somehow Gus and Curtis made her feel at home; Waverly wondered if it was the calming vibe she got off of them. Whatever the reason was, Waverly was grateful to have found people willing to help and keep her safe from the Del Rey brothers.

  
  
  



	3. Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Constance Clootie learns something terrifying.
> 
> Waverly just wants to live her life as a normal teenager and there's only one to do so while being on the run from the Del Rey's and Constance Clootie. Cue in, Gus and Curtis being amazing as always!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the third chapter of this crazy little story. Pay attention to details as you might find that it could be seen again in the later chapters! 
> 
> Enjoy!

Constance Clootie, a woman who knew too much yet many doubted her knowledge all because of her hair color. Those who knew her knew she had power. Getting intel was never an issue when her husband, Bulshar Clootie, was the most successful businessman in the state. A man worth more money than the average person knew what to do with. Collecting information was as simple as throwing money at a problem. Whether it got fixed was never the point. Money solved everything. For the Clootie’s at least. Throwing money around was also how Constance retrieved her intel.

What people didn't know was her source of information came from her husband, who worked with Bobo and Mars Del Rey; a deadly combination.

Bulshar mentioned some time ago, he had met with one of the most wanted people in all of Canada and that perked her interests. Getting involved with her husband's business wasn’t the smartest choice. From the outside, it was harmless. After stepping through the door, it was a whole new universe. Constance couldn’t help herself though, she loved the thrill of being a potential convict. It also didn’t help that she enjoyed sticking her nose in other people’s business and finding out whatever information she could. Bulshar told her everything, anyway. The two lovers, a perfect match.

When Constance first met Bobo, she could tell that he was up to no good and was hiding something more significant than drug dealing. Everyone knew about the Del Rey drug cartel. She did an investigation on Bobo and ended up following him. Constance trailed him to an abandoned building far off the main road; The wooden structure faded from years of sunlight and negligence. Her gut feeling was right, she had stumbled upon something far greater than measly drugs; An innocent girl tied to a chair, a prisoner. A token perhaps. A token Constance was going to take, so she had the upper hand on the Del Rey brothers.

While following Bobo on foot one night, Constance overhead the tail end of a conversation he had over the phone. Bobo had to return to Purgatory to keep his stupid goons out of trouble. The perfect opportunity for her to put her plan in motion. Once he had left, Constance sent a couple of her men in to retrieve the girl who she learned was Waverly Earp. Minus a few gang members becoming collateral damage, she captured Waverly with minimum struggle from the teenager, and now had the key to keeping the Del Rey brothers at her and Bulshar’s beck and call. The lead, Constance, would later refer to her.

Her men hightailed from the building, leaving Constance in a puff of smoke mixed with dust. Work was hours in the opposite direction and it kept her from accompanying her men to make sure they didn’t mess up. The unfortunate part was her leaving in a separate car and not her pink Cadillac that she loved. After an hour of driving, Constance got the phone call that changed the game forever. She spun her car around, almost causing other drivers to crash, and sped off towards the location they gave her.

Constance came to a screeching halt behind her Cadillac; her blood pressure rising at the sight of the trunk wide open. She got out of the car, screaming. “What the hell happened? Where is she?” The sound of twigs breaking and rustling in the woods caught her attention. Two of the men were still standing next to the vehicle, desperately avoiding eye contact with her. “Don’t just stand there like a couple of idiots, answers me!”

“She escaped!” One of them hesitated to say.

A blood vessel in Constance’s neck twitched as her anger boiled. Waverly getting away wasn’t a part of the plan. “Where are the others?” She demanded.

“They followed her into the woods. Haven’t heard from them since.” The other man stuttered.

“And neither of you didn’t think to go help them get her!” Constance was beyond pissed. This would have never happened if she had taken Waverly herself. A mistake she’ll never make twice. She shook her head and walked up to the trunk, her eyes immediately spotting a knife that belonged in her weapons belt. Constance groaned and smacked her forehead. “Imbeciles!”

A half-hour went by before the others returned. Constance felt her face heat up in anger when she noticed they were empty-handed. “Where is she!”

One man went to answer but stopped short after seeing his friend shake his head. He dropped his head forward and sighed. “We almost had her until she jumped off a cliff.”

“Did anyone of you jump in after her?” Constance screamed.

“Ma’am, that’s a hundred-foot drop!”

“I don’t fucking care! That girl is a valuable asset! You know who we stole her from?” The men shook their heads, knowing better than to answer the rhetorical question. “The Del Rey brothers that’s who, and we’re all dead if they find out we took her and lost her at the same time!”

Filled with rage, Constance began pacing; mumbling under her breath on how insane everything was. Just hours ago, everything was fine. She had the upper hand, confident in knowing Bobo and Mars would do whatever she wanted to get Waverly Earp back as their prisoner. It didn’t matter why the Del Reys brothers had her in the first place; It was the fact that Constance had power over them. Something no one could achieve before. Before she could spiral out of control, her phone started ringing.

“What!” Constance snarled. “I’m s-so sorry, ma'am. I’ve had a rough twenty-four hours... yes, I’m fine... No, ma'am, I can still make it to work on time... I’ll see you then.” She let out a long breath and glared at all the men standing around doing nothing. “If I didn’t have to leave right now, I would throw all of you off the same cliff that girl jumped off of. Get in your car. I don’t want to see or hear from any of you until you find her!” Constance opened the door to her pink Cadillac and climbed in. After slamming the door shut, she drove off in a hurry with dust trailing behind her.

**____________________**

  
  


**Three Months Later** :

  
  


Waverly ran into Walmart like her life depended on it. She ran a hand through her hair, brushing back the ridiculous color that covered part of her face. Wearing a wig was never ideal; Waverly had worn one a few years ago for Halloween. When Gus mentioned a friend owning a wig company and would gladly let her borrow a couple, she didn’t refuse the offer. Waverly didn’t want anyone to recognize her, even if the wig she was wearing itched like crazy. 

When she walked into the beauty product aisle and saw herself in a mirror, Waverly cringed at what she saw. Bright pink hair was not her color and made her think of Frenchy from ‘Grease.’ It also made Waverly stand out, and she absolutely hated it. Truthfully, wearing a pink wig wasn’t so bad. It allowed her to leave the safety of Gus and Curtis’s home for a short while. As much as it was a terrible idea to abandon the house, Waverly had to get out and do something, anything for that matter.

Hundreds of different colors of hair dye sat on the shelves. Black, brown, red, blonde, even grey was an option. Each color had multiple different shades, ranging from dark to light. Highlighting was mixed in with the ray of colors on each shelf. Each one was a little more daunting than the last. Waverly glared at the offending boxes before finally deciding on which hair dye she’d use. When she reached for the container, her back pocket began vibrating. Her body tensed at the sudden motion and grabbed the phone; Curtis had given her one of his old flip phones in case of emergencies. Waverly sighed in relief when Gus’s name shone across the screen.

  
  


**[Gus]** How are you doing?

  
  


Waverly smiled at the text; thanking her lucky stars that she stumbled upon decent people who despised the Dey Rey brothers as much as she did. Over the last few months, Waverly grew to have a soft spot for Gus and Curtis. There was just something about them that made her feel like she could trust them no matter what. She felt tranquility around them and Waverly still felt like knew them somehow. Gus and Curtis made sure she felt at ease, safe, and at home within the first few weeks of staying at their house.

The stories Waverly learned were beautiful and sometimes heartbreaking. She found out their last name was McCready by overlooking some of their mail, accidentally. Gus didn’t mind and began sharing how they ended up in Nebraska. They live in Florida for years but after dealing with hurricane seasons and losing their house twice to them, it was time to pack up and leave. Nebraska seemed like the right fit. There was more land than the city unlike most of the other states, like New York and Illinois. What they missed the most was snow. Fresh blankets of powdered snow shining under the morning sun. Winters reminded Gus of home, a location she never spoke of. It brought back to many memories of her younger sister. Waverly quickly learned the reason Gus hated the Del Reys so much; They murdered her sister years ago for no reason and she wanted revenge. A decision Gus decided against knowing she would wind up dead herself. After silent tears subsided from both women, Waverly opened up about herself. School subjects that interested her, things she wanted to accomplish after graduation. Talking about school and walking down the aisle with her diploma in hand felt good until Waverly remembered the situation she was in. Attending graduation or being nominated as class valedictorian was not an option for her 

  
  


**[Waverly]** I’m fine. A little overwhelmed, but I’ll be back at your place soon!

  
  


Once the message sent, Waverly deleted it. Traces of her existence, gone. Going to the store alone was already problematic, but the right thing to do. Facing fears and squashing them like a bug had to be done if Waverly wanted any kind of life. Being cooped up in a house for months wasn’t healthy and when no mention about a girl jumping off a cliff or diving out of a trunk of a car came to light, Waverly assumed Clootie’s men thought she’d drown in the lake. Ideally, it was what she hoped for. Realistically, surviving that fall was slim to none and since the men didn’t jump in after her, Waverly felt good about her assumption.

She threw two boxes of hair dye in the shopping cart that Waverly snagged while running into Walmart. Waverly shoved the phone in her jacket pocket and went about collecting other essentials and feminine hygiene products. The cart filled up with soaps, deodorants, a waxing kit, new clothes and another pair of shoes. It was hard not to think about the privilege she had of being able to buy these things. Bobo, though cruel, had a soft side for her. He’d bring her ‘feminine hygiene stuff’ every month so there wasn’t blood on the floor. She’d get locked up in some kind of holding cell where Bobo would give her a bucket of cold water and a bar of soap. ‘His men couldn’t handle her stench’ is what Bobo would tell her; Waverly could tell it was him just being nice. With every item scanned through, the cashier stared at Waverly, face contorting into confusion. Waverly ignored her as best she could and handed over the money that was owed; cringing at the fact she had to borrow money from Curtis. Money Waverly planned on paying back.

Waverly ran back out of the store, throwing the bags inside Curtis’s beat-up truck. Her body trembled like a leaf in the wind. For the first time since escaping, Waverly ventured alone outside of the safety of the McCready ranch and no one recognized her as Bobo’s hostage or asked who she was. It was silly, feeling that way, yet it was the truth. Anyone could be a part of Bobo’s gang or work for Constance Clootie. Being careless about who she could trust wasn’t a bright idea. Waverly couldn’t wait around until the other shoe drop. There was no way of knowing if or when anything was going to happen. Staying out of the Del Rey’s and Clootie’s radar was the best course of action if Waverly wanted to stay alive longer than her teenage years. With a deep breath, she started the truck and headed back towards the McCready’s, praying no one noticed who she was or where she was heading.

…

Gus looked out the kitchen window in time to see Waverly pull into the driveway. She walked outside expecting to greet Waverly with a warm smile instead Gus’s steps faltered and her smile fell. Seeing Waverly shaking so badly in the driver's seat made her heartbreak. Though Waverly had insisted on going alone, Gus knew she should have accompanied her. Venturing alone after a year of being someone's prisoners couldn’t have been good on Waverly’s nerves.

Waverly gripped the steering wheel while doing her breathing exercises. There came a time when doing those exercises weren’t needed, but that was a few years ago. Now, since Bobo kidnapped her and never knowing what his men might do to her, Waverly felt like she was always doing her breathing technique. Doing them helped her calm down whenever she was afraid or in a state of shock. It was better than going into a full-blown panic attack. Waverly jumped at the soft knock on the window and relaxed after seeing it was Gus.

“Deep breaths. Count backwards from ten with me. Slowly.” Gus whispered after opening the door. “10… 9... 8… 7…” She touched Waverly’s shoulder and gave her a sad smile after her breathing came back to normal. “How are you doing, sweetheart?”

“Freaked out. Every hair on my body is standing on end all because I fear someone recognized me and I’ll be Bobo’s prisoner again. I’ve been free for just over three months now. I know that what I’m feeling is normal but I just want to move forward with my life. How can I possibly do that?”

The pair made their way into the house and towards the spare bedroom that was now Waverly’s room. Curtis noticed the tears streaming down the young girl's face and gave the two privacy. He went out to his truck and grabbed the shopping bags for Waverly not knowing how long she’d be before doing so herself. Though there weren’t many bags, Curtis made two trips so his wife could comfort Waverly longer. As he sat the second set of bags down just inside the bedroom, he noticed a box of hair dye and remembered the conversation they had from the night before.

* * * * *

_“I think it’s time I change my appearance.” Waverly glanced at Gus and Curtis through the mirror as she put on the new wig the older woman gave her. “Something more permanent.”_

_“Not fond of the wig, eh?” Curtis chuckled as he watched Waverly try to fix the locks of hair so it wasn’t in her face._

_“It’s just-” She thought for a moment. “It’s not that… entirely.” Waverly muttered the last word under breath, hoping the other two didn’t hear her; She looked in the mirror again and saw them smirking. So much for being subtle._

_“I need to change the way I look.” Waverly reiterated, her eyes focused on herself. “Nobody can know I exist, except you two and my friend that can help me. At least not until the Del Reys brothers are behind bars. I’m not safe for me to be_ me _anymore.”_

* * * * *

Curtis looked up and smiled, seeing his wife lying on the bed with Waverly’s head on her lap. He watched Gus card a hand through long brown hair, trying her best to calm Waverly down. His heart ached at the scene before him and couldn’t help but feel bad for what the teenager had endured over the past year. Both him and Gus still didn’t know why Bobo Del Rey kidnapped Waverly but knew in time they would eventually find out. Asking now would only upset her more, and Curtis refused to be a heartless man. It also wasn’t right to force Waverly to relive a past that she so desperately wanted to move forward, leaving the past right where it belonged. Within time, when Waverly was ready, they’d learn the truth. They just had to be patient with her.

The sound of plastic rustling caught Gus’s attention and her eyes flickered up to see her husband staring at her. She slightly nodded her head and loudly exhaled after Curtis left the room. Moments later, he returned with a small brown box that had arrived in the mail that morning while Waverly was out shopping. The two had agreed to help Waverly in any way they could and thought it was best to buy something that would help them stay in contact with her. Gus and Curtis hoped they’d made the right choice.

“We got you something, kid.” Curtis gently waved the box in his hand.

Waverly sat up in bed, staring at the box Curtis place in front of her. She looked between two before whispering. “You didn’t have to do that. You’ve already done so much for me in the last few months while I’ve been trying to figure out how to get back on my feet.”

“This,” Gus tapped the box. “Is a way for you to live your life; The way _you_ want to. You’ve been holding back on reaching out to that friend of yours, maybe with this, you’ll feel a little more comfortable in doing so. Curtis and I know little about high-tech electronics, but we figured you’d like using something a little more advanced than what you’ve been using now.” She pointed to the flip phone sitting on the nightstand.

Waverly wasn’t sure what Gus meant at first but quickly understood once she pointed at the cell phone. Her eyes widened and heart rate picked up a little. Slowly, Waverly opened the package and pulled out the small white rectangular box. Once Waverly figured everything out and found herself a job, she planned to buy herself a new phone. Not once did she expect Gus and Curtis to buy her a brand new iPhone.

“It’s the latest model.” Curtis broke Waverly from her thoughts. “We weren’t sure what type of phone you liked, but almost all the teenagers that I’ve seen come into the restaurant, seem to have these devices. Thought you’d like something that was more ‘age-appropriate.’”

A single tear ran down Waverly’s cheek. “Thank you. Seriously, you guys didn’t have to do this. I promise to pay you back somehow.” She still couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that the McCready’s were so willing to help someone out that they barely knew.

“There’s one more thing.” Gus got off the bed and left the room, returning with a small bag in hand. “You might want this to get that working.” She smiled at Waverly while giving her the bag.

Waverly looked inside and grinned. Inside was a Bring Your Own Phone Kit from Straight Talk Wireless. Having it meant she didn’t need to go through a phone company and be at risk of contracts under her real name. “Thank you for this.” Waverly hugged both of them before Gus and Curtis left her room to start on lunch.

It took an hour for Waverly to set up her new phone. Creating an account to activate the phone was a bit more difficult than she had planned. She needed a name for the account and realized she had to come up with a new alias. Her new name had to different but Waverly also wanted to stay true to her birth name. The odds of coming up with a name similar to someone else's was high, yet it was still a risk to take. After settling on a name, Waverly finished the account and hit activate. Now it was a matter of changing her identity and keeping her old one a secret.

Once the cell phone turned on and ready to go, Waverly downloaded a texting app. Some would find that utterly redundant. To Waverly, her new phone had an IP address that was trackable and meant that anyone could find her. With a texting app, not only did it come with a new phone number, the IP address attached to said number was harder to trace. With a little hope, no one should be able to find Waverly.

Download completed. Waverly took a deep breath and opened the app; Sending a text message to the one friend she knew would help change her identity forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Waverly is finally contacting her friend after hesitating to do so! 
> 
> But who the hell could this friend be? Hmm...


	4. Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How to make you all mad at me?
> 
> Step one: *see beginning notes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not show you how Nicole and Waverly met...
> 
> Cause I never wrote it in the first place

“Wynonna, it’s time.” Willa leaned against the doorframe of Wynonna’s bedroom.

A year and a half had come and gone since Bobo had taken Waverly. They searched high and low, far and wide, every building in the Ghost River Triangle didn’t go untouched, and they trekked all throughout Alberta, Canada to find her. Unfortunately, no one found a single trace of evidence. No leads. Nothing. They all came up empty every single time.

Searching was the only answer. Finding Waverly was the most important task in the world. Without her, life wasn’t the same. She was the reason the Earp sisters were so close. The mold that held them together. After the sudden disappearance of their mother, Michelle, Wynonna and Willa took it upon themselves to raise their little sister. They knew Ward wasn’t going too, so both decided it was best they’d be the ones to take care of Waverly. Protect her, love her, show her right from wrong.

Sometimes Ward interfered, three sheets to the wind drunk and magically stronger than an ox. Stopping him was difficult, with drunken swings and a pistol showing up out of nowhere. Surviving under Ward’s care became the norm for them. Making sure they weren’t beaten all to hell was a different story altogether. His death was a godsend, tragic but a weight off their shoulders knowing it was one less thing to worry about it. That was until Bobo changed the game and changed their lives forever.

Wynonna laid on her bed, eyes closed, arms crossed over her chest. “I told you. I’m not going.”

“Well, I’m not showing up alone either. Waverly would want us there... together.”

Upon hearing her sister’s name, Wynonna bolted off the bed and pointed a finger in Willa’s face. “ _ Don’t _ you dare say her name!” Her voice wavered. 

Speaking Waverly’s name became a cardinal rule to not do. They preferred pronouns like she and her, because saying her name would cause bile to rise in their throats. Shortly after the kidnapping, Willa had mentioned Waverly’s name and Wynonna ended up having a panic attack; something she’d never done before. After calming herself down, Wynonna crumbled to pieces, acknowledging that her little sister may never come home again. Willa was by her side instantly, picking her up and trying her best to put her back together again. There would always be a piece missing though, and it broke Willa’s heart knowing neither of them would ever be the same again. She vowed to search all of Canada, willing to die trying to find Waverly. Willa would have continued searching if she hadn’t opened the front door to find a box of bloody clothes sitting there a week ago.

DNA tests weren’t needed. The clothes gave away the answer. Waverly wore them the night Bobo’s men took her. Sheriff Nedley gave reason though, the blood on the clothes could have been anyones. Could have easily been a dirty trick played by anyone to upset them. Forty-eight hours later, confirmation came back and the amount of blood there was, there was no possible way Waverly Earp was still alive.

Planning the funeral for Waverly was a hundred times harder than it was for Ward. Willa adored Waverly, loved her little sister to pieces. Ward, not so much; ninety percent of the town didn’t like him either, so planning was simple. The only people that showed up at the funeral were the Sheriff Department, Willa, and Wynonna. Not even the reverend Father Juan Carlo cared to show up at the cemetery. This time it would be different. The entire town loved Waverly and mourned for months after her disappearance.

“Wyn, I’m sorry. I don’t want to go to this either.” Willa admitted.

“Then let’s not go.” Wynonna walked out of her room and headed towards the kitchen.

Willa sighed. “We have to and you know it. Wa- She would want us there when they lay her to rest.”

“Didn’t know our sister turned into multiple bags of sand.” Wynonna sarcastically said.

“You think this is easy for me? Our baby sister is gone. Dead! All because of that psychopath! Whether or not we want to admit it, Waverly isn’t coming back and there’s nothing we can do about that. The only thing we can hope for now is that we find her body.”

“I refuse to believe that she's dead. She’s alive. I just know it, Willa.” 

“Believe what you want, Wynonna. Still doesn’t get you out of going to the funeral.”

She heard Wynonna grumbling and watched as her sister began drinking straight from the Jack Daniels bottle. Willa never imagined Wynonna drinking as much or more alcohol than their father. Ward was practically known as the town drunk despite being the sheriff. The way Wynonna was going, she was two whiskey shots away from passing Ward’s all-time drinking record. She never thought it would happen, but seeing Wynonna break down every now and again, alcohol seemed like the only solution to forget that Waverly was gone. Willa feared it would only get worse after the funeral.

One thing bothered Willa though; What if Wynonna was right?

…

For a day that was supposed to be dark and depressing, the sun shined brighter than ever before. Willa and Wynonna weren’t religious people by any means. They couldn’t believe in a God that caused so much pain and one that allowed their sister to be whisked away during a raid gone wrong. ‘Everything happens for a reason,’ one priest said to them a few weeks back. He meant for it to be comforting instead the man-caused more pain than he intended too. All that aside, if they believed in a higher power, they liked to think that the sun shining down on them, was Waverly’s way of saying she was with them... if Waverly was dead. 

Dead or not, laying someone to rest was never ideal. Burying a loved one, that was a raw ordeal no one should ever have to experience. Not when said person was loved and admired by so many townsfolk. Wynonna tried to convince herself that multiple people died every day. A fact that might soften the blow. The truth of the matter, it didn’t. The pain was still there, aching, like a knife to the heart.

The cemetery filled quickly with almost every single person who lived in town. They all gathered around the Earp plot and the rectangle six-foot hole in the ground. As a gift from the townsfolk, a beautiful double heart-shaped headstone stood at the head of the plot. Waverly’s picture was on one heart and the other had an angel's wing covering half with the words ‘Your wings were ready but our hearts were not’ inscribed on the other half. It was beautiful, breath-taking even. If Waverly was there to see it, surely she would be in tears of happiness knowing the town folks bought that for her.

Willa and Wynonna stood up front, a couple of yards away from the hole in the ground. Everyone surrounded them, making a perfect crescent shape. Father Juan Carlo then began speaking of sorrow. “A death so young, to a girl filled with so much hope, love, faith, and spirit enough to fill the world, should never happen. Waverly, though not much of a churchgoer, volunteered in all the local charities. She was the first one to arrive and the last one to leave. A girl of sixteen, putting other people's happiness before her own is a rare find…”

Father Juan Carlo shared a few more memories that he had of Waverly before ending in prayer. Willa stepped forward, wiping away some tears, and then faced the entire Purgatory community. She unfolded the papers that she held onto while subconsciously smoothing out her dress. Being there, speaking to everyone about her little sister that wasn’t even lying in the coffin beside her, felt wrong. Awkward. The same question Willa wondered earlier came flooding back. What if Wynonna was right? What if Waverly was alive, and this was nothing but a ruse to gather everyone together by the Del Reys? Willa tried not to think about it, but it was difficult. It wasn’t like the casket had Waverly's body lying inside. No, sandbags and a couple of trinkets that belonged to Waverly filled the coffin.  _ What if Wynonna was right? _

Willa cleared her throat and quickly scanned the crowd. “Sorry, I never thought to be here again; less than two years since burying my father. On behalf of myself and Wynonna, we’d like to thank everyone who helped buy this beautiful headstone for our baby sister. Waverly would have loved it. Mostly because it’s pink not because of its beauty. Though she would have appreciated that too.” Willa quickly added in. She hated eulogies. The last time she had to give one was for her father and it was excruciating then too. With Ward’s eulogy, there was no emotion, no happy memories, just an ‘I’m sorry for how he died, but I’m not sorry he’s dead.’ Waverly’s eulogy was a whole other ballgame. Willa trying to keep her emotions in check was getting harder and harder by the minute and the silent tears rolling down her cheeks weren’t helping her either.

“Waverly had the heart of an angel. Like Father Juan Carlo said, she always put others before herself. Out of everyone in our family, Waverly was the most selfless one...” Willa continued on with her eulogy. Taking breaks to wipe the tears pooling in her eyes and to steady her breath before she became a stuttering mess from crying uncontrollably.

Wynonna had joined Willa, hugging her side while Willa continued to read. She didn’t care if people saw her softer side that day. She was at a funeral for her baby sister and everyone in town knew the Earp sisters were close. Wynonna wasn’t heartless, they all knew that. It just took a lot to break down Wynonna’s walls.

Halfway through the funeral, the sound of engines roared past the cemetery. A meticulous laugh ripped through the air, and a shiver ran down both Wynonna and Willa’s back. They could see the stupid Mohawk from where they stood as Bobo rode by with his gang. Seeing him was another reminder of what kind of hold he had on the Earp family. *At least he didn’t stop*, Willa thought. Her body stiffened, remembering her earlier thoughts.

“The nerve of that guy,” Willa mumbled.

“I know. After today, he won’t let him have that kind of control over us, okay.” Wynonna whispered, squeezing Willa a little tighter, reassuring her.

The funeral went on with no more interruptions. Bobo never came back through and honestly, it was better that way. His presence lingered longer than anyone had hoped for but they carried on and ignored the dark feeling that someone was watching them from afar. Someone that shouldn’t be at Waverly’s funeral or in Purgatory in general. Once the feeling was gone, everyone felt normal but remained on high alert.

When the funeral ended, with dozens upon dozens of roses laid across the casket, the townsfolk lined up to give their condolences to the girls. Though Willa and Wynonna thought the gesture was nice, it only made them feel worse. It made them both think of how Waverly would have loved seeing everyone together and getting along. A rare occasion for the people of Purgatory.

After Ward’s death, people soon realized that how the Earp girls acted wasn’t to terrorize the town and the people who lived in it, but a cry for help. They all knew Ward was a terrible man and honestly thought Willa and Wynonna were growing up to be just like him. When word broke out that he had died and the girl's behavior changed immensely, everyone knew they had been mistaken and wrongfully assumed the worst. Even Randy Nedley, deputy sheriff, Ward’s right-hand man, thought the worst and felt horrible for thinking such things. He knew Waverly was a sweetheart from the amount of times she and his daughter Chrissy played together as kids and continued to spend time together as they got older. Never once had he thought the older sisters were causing trouble to only bring light to what was happening at home.

Nedley walked up to Willa. “I’ll continue to search for her.” He whispered as he gave Willa an awkward hug. He truly wasn’t the affectionate type of guy. “If I stop, I’ll have my own wrath at home to deal with.” He nodded towards his daughter.

Both Willa and Wynonna looked over at Chrissy, eyebrows furrowed. They tried to figure out why the teenager looked so horrified. As if she had just seen a ghost while staring blankly down at her cellphone.

**____________________**

  
  


**Eight and Half Years Later:**

  
  


Windows down, cool air brushing against heated skin, while beat bopping to the music, Nicole Haught cruised down the open highway. Her red, chin-length hair flowed with the breeze and occasionally blew in the face whenever she turned her head to look out the window. More often than not, it was to double-check the road signs to make sure she was heading in the right direction and checking the passenger seat to make sure Xena, her two-year-old German Shepherd hadn’t chewed through her harness yet. Nicole smiled at Xena antics; her dog’s head out the window and tongue flapping in the wind.

It was the second time Nicole had left the states to be in Canada, the first time with her dog. It was part of her job description to be in both regions of North America. By chance, she would end up in Mexico, but it was highly unusual for that to happen. Either way, being part of a cross border task force as the youngest female detective ever to join definitely had its perks. Though going to those specific locations always gave a sense of dread to Nicole whenever she had to travel to a new crime scene.

This time around, it was different. A local sheriff asked Nicole to help solve a gang-related issue. A gang that was ruthless to the core overran a small town called Purgatory and needed outside help to take down the leader. Nicole wasn’t told much else about the case but was informed that the officer, Sheriff Randy Nedley, would fill her in once she arrived there. That information made Nicole wonder if the phone lines were being tapped into, so the man wasn’t able to relay any significant amount of knowledge without being caught. It was something she was going to look into after settling in.

An hour went by before Nicole saw the first sign for Purgatory. She drove another mile on the highway before pulling off and headed down the straight strip leading to the small town. From a distance, it seemed like a welcoming little place, but as she got closer to the ‘Welcome to Purgatory’ sign, that was when Nicole realized it looked… gloomy. Dark clouds loomed over the town and nowhere else. Nicole thought it was odd and wondered if she was driving into a horror film and her death was…

All thoughts about Purgatory left her mind the instant her cell phone started playing the ringtone for her mother, Alyson Haught. “Hey, Mom,” Nicole answered; she could feel Xena's eyes on her.

_ “Hi, sweetie, just wondering if you and Xena made it to your new location yet?” _

Nicole signed.  _ Of course, my mom would call just as I’m reaching the town line. _ She loved that her mom called her often and quite possibly more times than most parents would call their kids just to check-up on them. “No, not quite yet. We’re just passing the welcome sign now, and my GPS says we’re still twenty minutes out.”

_ “Well, at least you two arrived at the town safely then. I don’t need my daughter or grand dog getting lost on me.” _ Alyson laughed awkwardly.

“You okay there, Mom?”

_ “Yes, I’m fine! Just be careful wherever you are.” _ The concern was clear in Alyson’s voice.

“Once I know more, I’ll call you and tell you where I am, Mom. If not, I’ll let you track my iPhone.”

Alyson awkwardly laughed again.  _ “Anyway, I’m calling to see if you have spoken with Westlyn recently?” _ Nicole smiled at the mention of her best friend.

“Um, well, I spoke to her right before I left and we’ve sent a few texts before I started driving from the airport. Why?”

_ “I’m just wondering. I haven’t seen Westlyn around town since you’ve left. I thought maybe she went with you.” _ Alyson’s voice faltered. She adored Nicole’s friend and would hate for anything to happen to her.

The smile on Nicole’s face morphed into a frown. Her best friend, Westlyn Evans, was the kind of person who always worried about those who were close to her. She had a habit of putting others before herself. No matter what the situation was, Westlyn made it so she was the least of everyone's worries. That was something Nicole picked up on fairly quickly after meeting her a year ago. It wasn’t long after that that Nicole was falling in love with her.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Nicole brought her focus back to the conversation. “No, Wes isn’t with me, and she never mentioned leaving town either. Are you sure you haven’t just missed her without realizing it?” She felt Xena move beside her and then lay her head on her owner's lap, whimpering softly at the mention of Westlyn.

_ “Nicole, the day you left, we had plans to have dinner together.” _ Nicole grinned at the thought of her friend and mother getting along so well, but it instantly dropped and turned into a grimace when her mother spoke again.  _ “Westlyn never called me to say she wasn’t coming over or not. That’s not like her, and I’m really concerned about it.” _

“I’ll call her as soon as I can and see what’s up. I’m almost to the precinct where I’m meeting the sheriff. Once I get ahold of Westlyn and get some answers, I’ll call you directly after or have her call you instead.” Something out of the corner of Nicole's eyes caught her attention. There were flyers posted on almost every telephone pole there was in town, but Nicole couldn’t tell what they were. She had a guess on what they were, but she wasn’t going to assume either. “I’ve got to go. Love you, Mom, bye.” She hung up before her mother could even reply.

Nicole’s mind raced with ideas on why her friend skipped town, but unfortunately, Nicole couldn’t allow herself to overthink it too much. There could have been many explanations for why Weslyn left. A family emergency, though Nicole had never once heard Westlyn say anything about having siblings or if her parents were alive or not. A forgotten job interview that might have been in the next town over, but it seemed silly to not drive back home if that were the case. Nicole wasn’t sure what the issue was, but she was going to figure it out.

Twenty minutes flew by quicker than Nicole expected as she parked in front of the Purgatory Sheriff Department. Because her mind was elsewhere, too wrapped up in worrying about her friend, Nicole failed to take in how the town looked. She blinked a few times, looked around, and just as she had thought, Purgatory really looked like something straight out of a horror film. A shiver ran down her spine at the thought, but there was no backing out. Not that the detective was going to. Nicole never backed down from a challenge, and she wasn’t about to start now.

Upon arrival, Nicole did some light research on the backwater town. During the 1800s, the first settlers moved there and began building. By the looks of it, the center of town stayed the same minus a couple of new buildings here and there. Purgatory was known for having one of the original families still living there, the Earp’s; Wyatt Earp’s descendants to be exact. The one that stood out the most, but she didn’t have time to read the article, was a kidnapping that happened ten years ago. Nicole thought about the flyers and wondered if they had a connection to one another.

With what little information she had about Purgatory, Nicole needed to know more. She leaned past Xena and opened her glove box to grab her badge and gun. Nicole thanked her boss, Jeannie Lucado, for arranging a private flight that allowed her to have Xena, her gun and other essential weapons that she carried while on a case. In a place like Purgatory, where her senses skyrocketed through the roof, Nicole felt like she needed every single weapon she owned and then some.

Inside the bullpen, it was rather quiet. An older woman with grayish-white hair sat at the front desk and Nicole couldn’t help but notice how bored she seemed. A tall, gangly, blonde-haired man, wearing a police uniform, entered the room from one of the side doors, with a donut and a cup of coffee in hand; clearly not paying attention to his surroundings. Nicole cleared her throat, loudly, both the officer and the woman looked up at her with a deer in a headlight look.

“I’m looking for Sheriff Nedley. I’m Agent Haught.” Nicole said, flashing her badge at both of them. “And this is my partner Xena.” She patted her German Shepherd on the head. The older woman who sat behind the counter went back to whatever it was she was working on, knowing the officer had it under control.

“Right!” The man hastily put the donut and coffee down on the nearest table and wiped his hands on his pants before walking over to her. Nicole grimaced at the action. “Officer Lonnie Conners.” The officer, Lonnie, stuck his hand out.

“Nicole Haught.” The detective gave Lonnie a small smile as she shook his hand; relieved that it wasn’t the one holding the jelly donut. Lonnie went to pat the dog on the head but flinched when Xena growled at him.

“Th-the sheriff is in his office, that door right there.” Lonnie pointed to the closed door behind him that had a windowpane with the letters S H E R I F F printed on it. “I’ll let him know that you’re here.”

“Thank you.”

…

“Look, girls, I know you want to find your sister, and bring her home to lay her to rest but we are no further in finding her body than we were the last time we spoke.” Sheriff Nedley dropped his head, dejectedly. He hated not being able to help his citizens and, most importantly, he hated that he couldn’t solve the one case that he had kept open for three years; Randy deemed it a cold case seven years ago.

“That’s not good enough!” Wynonna slammed her fists on the Sheriff's desk.

“Wynonna!” Willa warned her sister. “We already knew this information when we came in here. It’s not his fault nothing has come up in almost a decade.”

“I just want her back.” Wynonna did her best to hold back her tears.

“I know. I do too. I’m sorry Sheriff Nedley.”

“That’s all right. If they took my Chrissy from me, I’d feel the same way. Just keep doing what you’re doing now, and maybe someone will turn up with information that will allow me to reopen the case. Until then-”

Knock Knock Knock

“Enter!” The Sheriff’s face hardened when he realized it was Lonnie. “Boy, I told you not to disturb me until after the Earp’s left.”

“I’m really sorry, Sheriff, but that person you requested to help with our,” Lonnie glanced at the Earp girls in the room. “Problem... is here.”

“Problem? What Problem?” Willa prompted while looking between both Officers.

“Lonnie, just bring her in.” Nedley shook his head as the door closed. He liked Officer Conners, but sometimes the man just didn’t know when to keep his mouth shut and information to a minimum.

“We have everything all under control ladies. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a meeting with someone.”

“Come on, Wynonna. Let's go hang up the new posters.”

“Fine.” Wynonna grudged. She spun around and began walking to the door. She swung it open and was greeted with a tall, fiery redhead woman; clad in dark wash jeans, a collared navy blue button-up, and black combat boots. “Hello, hottie-with-a-body... and big scary ass dog?” Wynonna said as she laid eyes on the large German Shepherd.

“Seriously Wynonna, I swear I can’t take you anywhere. I’m sorry whoever you are, it’s best to just ignore her.” Willa apologized while grabbing ahold of her sister’s arm and dragged her past the redhead and the dog.

“It’s fine, really, and the name’s Nicole.” As the three of them moved around each other, Nicole noticed the flyers in both of the girl's hands. She saw that it was a missing person poster, but what caught her attention the most was the picture. She looked exactly like…

“Excuse me.” Nicole turned around, ignoring the man she assumed was the sheriff that was telling her to join him in his office and gently grabbed… Wynonna’s arm. “May I have one of those, please?”

“Um sure?” Wynonna reluctantly handed the stranger the flyer and then gave her sister a questionable look. Willa shrugged her shoulders, and the two of them walked out of the precinct.

Nicole held onto the flyer with a vice grip. The photo on it was mocking her, and she knew it. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. The girl in the picture was  **_her_ ** .  _ But that can't be, right?  _ The words on the eight by eleven poster popped out at her. Missing. Brown hair. Green eyes. Heart-shaped birthmark. A scar on the left eyebrow.  **_She_ ** _ has a heart-shaped birthmark and a small scar on her left eyebrow. _

“You must be Detective Nicole Haught. I’m Sheriff Nedley.” Randy came walking out of his office, breaking Nicole from her thoughts. He noticed the dog standing obedient to the redhead's side but decided not to say anything yet. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you since we talked on the phone. Thank you for getting here on such short notice.”

“Yeah, sure, of course,” Nicole replied while keeping her eyes trained on the piece of paper. “Sheriff, the girl in the photo… who is she?” She held up the flyer for the man to see.

“Let's go into my office, and I’ll explain. Is your dog trained, agent?” Nedley asked while he led Nicole and her dog into the room and offered her a seat to which she took.

“Yes, my partner Xena, is very well trained,” Nicole answered. She made a hand motion, and Xena immediately laid down next to her owner. Nicole looked back to the flyer. She was confused, immensely. She wanted to know why the girl in the photo looked like her.

“That there, is Waverly Earp.” Nedley finally said. “She was the town's sweetheart and most likely to have been voted class valedictorian.”

“What happened to her? Why is she missing?” Nicole questioned; wanting to know everything there was to know about the girl on the missing person’s flyer.

“Ten years ago, there was an invasion at the Earp Homestead. Ward Earp owned a bunch of money to the ringleader, Bobo Del Rey, and as collateral, Waverly, Ward's youngest daughter, was taken. Ward was shot and killed the same night by Bobo and the two oldest daughters; the girls that just left my office; had to be the ones to come up with the money their father owed. Bobo promised to never lay a finger on the girl, and he would return Waverly safe and sound after they paid the debt. He stayed true to his word, but something had to have happened. After a year and a half, Bobo sent the Earp girls a package; no return address. It was a box of Waverly’s clothes that she was wearing when she was taken and were saturated in her blood. Everyone here spent three years looking for her but that damn Del Rey had her locked away somewhere, and there wasn’t a trace of where we could find her. The sisters, Willa and Wynonna, haven’t given up hope, but at this point, they just want her home so she can lay peacefully.”

“What if she escaped?” Nicole asked; Xena perked her head up at the sound of Nicole’s voice.

“Excuse me?”

“What if she escaped from her captures and figured that going home wasn’t the best option knowing that would be the first place they would look for her?”

“It’s possible, but why do you ask?” Intrigued by the possibility, Sheriff Nedley looked at the detective and noticed she was staring at the picture.

Nicole, not bothering to look back up as she traced her finger over the picture; her voice soft but loud enough for the Sheriff to hear. “Because I have every reason to believe that I know who this girl is, but Waverly Earp isn't the name I know her as.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should be updating this more now. At this point, most of this story is already written minus the last few chapters. I'm thinking of adding a few WayHaught scenes but honestly, I'm just evil (insert: bitch) and truly should make you all wait until they're on the same page... literally.


	5. Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this should have been updated months ago, sorry about that. I have no excuses except for not wanting to edit. I'm going to try my best and edit the next few chapters so I can upload them as well as finish writing this fic.

The encounter with the strange newcomer was… odd and Wynonna wasn’t entirely sure how to process it. She’d never seen the redheaded woman in Purgatory before and most unfamiliar people meant trouble. Though that person seemed different. They were sharply dressed, held their head up high, had a cool ass dog, but the instant the woman saw her little sister's picture on the poster, it was like everything shifted.

“That was weird right?” Wynonna glanced over at Willa as they walked side by side. “The woman back there?”

“Yeah, it was strange, wasn’t it?” Willa pondered. “I wonder who she is and why she’s here in the first place?”

The last person to come to town had been a ‘replacement’ member for the Revenants. They had black hair that went just past their shoulders and piercing brown eyes that could smolder anyone who locked eyes with them. Wynonna, ever the curious one, found the woman intriguing. She wanted to know everything there was to know about her but quickly found out that it was a terrible idea. This woman, Rosita Bustillos, had two Ph.D.’s; biochemistry and engineering, and after arriving in town, everyone soon learned she was Bobo Del Rey’s newest girlfriend. Someone who also knew their way around a lab, so the curiosity of understanding why this seemingly smart woman wanted to be on Bobo’s arm, had everyone scratching their heads when no explanations came to mind.

With another stranger in town, with no reason behind their presence and arriving in town by themselves and a gigantic ass dog, it raised the Earp sister’s heart rates because of fear. How Lonnie explained it, Sheriff Nedley had *requested* them for a *problem*. If the issue involved Bobo and the Revenants selling drugs throughout the Ghost River Triangle, then everyone already knew about it.

“You think she’s here to help solve Purgatory’s... problem?” Wynonna whispered, not knowing who could be lurking around to overhear their conversation.

“Maybe?... Also, did you notice how she reacted to Waverly’s photo? If she’s here to help, I'd understand why she’d want a poster, but that didn’t-.”

“Feel like that was the reason?” Wynonna finished for her. She felt the same way when the redhead stared down at the picture of her baby sister.

“Fuck, whoever this Nicole person is, whether or not she’s here for Nedley, maybe she can help bring Waverly home.”

“Alive preferably,” Wynonna mumbled.

“Wynonna, you and I both know the odds of that happening are slim to none. There was too much blood on the clothes that Bobo sent us and it’s been ten years.”

Wynonna stopped walking and stared at the back of Willa's head. “So?” She barked out; annoyed at her sister.

Willa sighed and turned around to face Wynonna. “So- I  _ want _ to bring Waverly home just as much as you do, so she can lie in peace.” It was all Willa wanted since the box of bloody clothes that Waverly wore the night they kidnapped her arrived on their doorstep. Honestly, she wanted her little sister home, alive, but like she had told Wynonna, the chances were slim to none. She walked over to her sister and hugged her. “If she is alive, I hope she knows that her big sisters miss her and love her and only want her to come back home, safe and sound.” 

**____________________**

  
  


**[Nicole]:** **Hey, letting you know I made it to my location safely. Been here for a little more than half an hour, now. I’d call, but I’m still getting debriefed. Call you ASAP?**

**[Nicole]: Almost forgot, my mom called to tell me you two were supposed to have dinner with her the day I left, but you didn’t show up. She’s really worried about you. Call her, so she knows you’re okay.**

_ Hi, this is Westlyn. Leave a message: _ Hey, Wes. You’re probably busy. I haven’t heard from you yet, and I’m getting a little worried. I just want to make sure you’re okay. There’s also something I need to talk to you about, and it’s important. Call me as soon as you get this.

_ Hi, this is Westlyn. Leave a message: _ Hey, it’s me again… I know I’ve called umpteen dozen times by now, but I just wanted to remind you that you’re my best friend and I-I love you. I’m here for you no matter what. Bye.

Nicole lost count of the number of times she called or texted Westlyn in the half-hour Sheriff Nedley had given her to process the idea that her friend could be Waverly Earp; the girl that had been missing for ten years. The thought alone was a lot to take in. There were countless questions that needed answers, yet the detective had to wait to get them. 

“Any word from your friend?” Nedley asked when he re-entered his office-two cups of coffee in hand. He smiled at the detective’s dog who continued to stare at the door while continuing to lie next to the chair.

“No, not yet.” The Sheriff offered Nicole a cup. “Thanks... Why did you request for me to be here?” Nicole finally asked. She had been wanting to know the answer ever since she got the case assigned to her.

“Purgatory is overrun by Revenants.”

“Revenants? The gang that teamed up with the Banditos, the largest drug cartel the United States has ever seen, and began one of the biggest drug traffickings in North America known to mankind?” Xena began growling at the mention of the Banditos.

“They’re one and the same,” Nedley confirmed and tried his best not to chuckle at the dog’s reaction to the gang name.

“Great!” Nicole said flatly. “What information do I need to know and also, why does this town look like something that came out of a Stephen King novel?” So Sheriff Nedley explained.

  
  
  
  
  


When Randy Nedley was a sheriff’s deputy with Ward Earp as his boss, he had learned to handle all the responsibilities within the sheriff’s department. He became the leader the other officers needed and looked up too. Whenever Ward was drinking at the bar while on shift, Nedley did what he had to do and started going through all the files that were on the Revenants. Nedley quickly found out that his boss had launched his own investigation on the gang, but for all the wrong reasons.

Bobo’s and Mars's father, Robert Del Rey created the gang a few years prior to Ward becoming Sheriff. The gang consisted of seventy-seven men and women; a variety of different convicts. Ward learned that Robert bought the old trailer parks throughout the Ghost River Triangle. It gave his members a place to stay without the cops breathing down their necks. To Robert’s delight, most of them ended up living in Purgatory.

Two years later, after the Revenant gang formed, they all managed to stay out of trouble. Ward, who had just become the newest Sheriff, thought nothing of it; more or less because he didn’t care. They weren’t hurting anyone or causing riots in the streets, so his job as sheriff was simple. The gang, mostly, stayed on the strait and narrow, so Ward’s job was done. Or so he thought. 

That same year Ward became sheriff, he found out his wife, Michelle, was pregnant with his second daughter, Wynonna. It was also when Mars began selling drugs in Purgatory; not that anyone could prove that theory. There were dozens of sellers all over town and none of them were willing to give up their supplier’s names. It became an endless cycle of following, arresting, interrogating, and releasing the person they caught selling; never once getting a full statement and always getting half-assed truths about everything else.

Drug dealing turned into multiple deaths that were deemed apparent suicides even though no one believed it. Everyone knew they were murders but kept their mouths shut. They all knew Ward wouldn’t have done anything to change the allegations. All the officers feared their boss, except for sheriff deputy Nedley.

As time went on, and more secrets unfolded, the violence in Purgatory got worse. Multiple murders happened, people who had lived in Purgatory for decades started moving away, and those who stayed knew how to protect themselves. Some of those who stayed were the ones distributing the drugs all over the Ghost River Triangle. Nedley marked down who stayed and seemed shady, hiding them away in a folder, away from prying eyes; Sheriff Earp to be exact.

Six years into Ward being a sheriff, something changed in his demeanor. Not only did he not care about his town, but he stopped caring about his family too. Michelle had gotten pregnant with her third child and not once did Ward believe that it was his. There were rumors around Purgatory that Ward started talking to Mars and Bobo Del Rey. Rumors, that he was making deals with them; cash for alcohol.

The rumors were proven when the Del Rey brothers began dropping off money at Shorty’s; paying off Ward’s debts. The questions then became: why were they helping the sheriff pay off his dues and what was Ward helping them do in return?

Word spread fast about Ward taking money from the Del Rey’s, and Michelle became furious. She hated not having enough money for herself and her daughters and took matters into her own hands. While Ward was at work one afternoon, Michelle packed up the girls and started driving out of town. They made it to the boundary line where trouble was waiting for them. How Mars caught wind of Michelle leaving town, Nedley still couldn’t figure out. Michelle told no one about her abrupt plans to leave, yet Mars was one step ahead of her. It’s been said that the Earp’s are staked to the land like there are to the Del Rey’s. No Earp could leave until Ward’s ‘borrowed’ money was paid back in full and that included Michelle and the girls.

With no other choice, Michelle reluctantly returned home and had Willa and Wynonna bring Waverly upstairs while she had a chat with Mars. According to reports, no one saw a thing but heard one gunshot and Ward finding his wife’s body sprawled across the dirt, in a pool of her own blood. Willa and Wynonna knew something wasn’t right between their father and the most hated gang in Purgatory and vowed to never get involved with them. Nedley learned years later, that the Earp sisters had agreed on one thing: don’t make deals with the devil, no matter what they offered you.

Shortly after Michelle’s ‘mysterious’ death, Robert died unexpectedly. People assumed it was Ward going off the deep-end again; firing his gun at anything that crossed his path and Robert was at the wrong place and time. Because Ward’s rampages happened so often, it was how his youngest daughter Waverly, ended up getting grazed on her-

“On her right side. A few inches from her armpit.” Nicole spoke, breaking Nedley from his explanation. 

Xena pressed her nose against her owner’s leg and whimpered. Nicole subconsciously reached down and ran her fingers through the soft fur on Xena’s head. She remembered that day like it had happened yesterday; how her friend reacted to Nicole seeing the scar. Westlyn couldn’t cover up her side fast enough. Stuttering over each word, blushing furiously while trying to come up with an excuse for why she had a scar on her ribs to begin with. Nicole chalked it up to nerves and never asked Westlyn to explain how she got it. Honestly, Nicole was too busy gay panicking at having to see her best friend in a bikini than being able to form any coherent sentences. She wasn’t going to tell Sheriff Nedley that though.

“Another similarity your friend and Waverly Earp have in common?” Nedley questioned.

“Yeah…” Nicole cleared her throat and desperately tried not to think of Westlyn in a bikini. “We went to the beach last summer, and I noticed the scar there. Westlyn said that it happened a long time ago but never how she got it. I knew that it was a bullet graze but never pressed on the matter. I figured if she wanted me to know, she’d tell me.”

“Did she?” Nedley questioned.

“No, the subject never came back up again.”

“Well, as I was saying. After Robert died, Bobo and Mars got worse. Mars left Purgatory for the States, leaving Bobo in charge of the Revenants.”

“And Mars Del Rey created the Banditos and the two brothers started drug trafficking between the countries.” Nicole finished for him.

“Exactly.” Nedley agreed. “I will assume that Black Badge also knows that they have labs to create most of their drugs.”

“We’ve found one so far, but by the time we found the building, the fuckers already moved the drugs onto a new location. It’s like they have someone working on the inside.”

“You think you have a mole?” Nedley raised an eyebrow. He never thought about a dirty cop working on the inside.

“It’s possible and I haven’t voiced this idea yet to Lucado, so it would be greatly appreciated if it stayed between us.”

“I agree. Now, how would you like to proceed?”

Nicole thought for a moment. “I want every file you have on the Earp’s sisters.”

...

A few hours later, after debriefing with Nedley was over, Nicole finally settled down in her motel room; grateful that the place allowed animals. She wasn’t sure what she would have done if the only motel in Purgatory didn’t. Xena was her partner, and she went everywhere and was included in every case with Nicole since being approved to be a law enforcement k9. Leaving Xena behind with her mom felt wrong so Nicole was more than willing to search for a hotel in the Big City that allowed pets or service animals.

Nicole sat down on her bed and looked around the room. The motel was different. She had expected the place to be… less remodeled with a fresh flowery smell and more questionable to be staying in. Honestly, the smell of death crossed her mind, and that was what she prepared herself to smell, but was pleasantly surprised to be proven wrong. Truth be told, there wasn’t one wrong thing about the room and the attached bathroom was exactly the same.

It was odd; a beautiful-looking motel in a backwater town that screamed ‘turn back now’ the moment you reached the town limits. Most motels were disgusting, and some even had a murder or two happen in them. People usually tried to stay away from them and did their best to stay with friends or family if they could or tried to book a hotel room and or Airbnb. The Motel 6 Nicole was standing in though, made her feel right at home and that simple fact worried her. It was completely out of the ordinary, and every fiber in her being told Nicole to sleep with one eye open, even with a fiercely protective German Shepherd by her side.

She went about her nightly routine before settling into bed and grabbed her phone from the nightstand. A new text message lit up the screen and Nicole beamed when she noticed that it was from Westlyn. Her smile faded when she noticed the time stamp. _7:56pm_. Her phone died shortly after trying to contact Westlyn and she plugged her phone in before hopping into the shower almost ten minutes ago. Could Westlyn have sent that message after Nicole’s phone died? 

Nicole’s heart started pounding in her chest. She stared at the icon on her phone before opening the text. The message simply read:  **I’m sorry** .

_ What is she sorry for? Missing my calls? Not texting back right away? Missing dinner with my mother the night I left? _ Snapping out of her thoughts, Nicole hastily unlocked her phone and hit the call button. She held her breath, and in a matter of a second, realized why her friend was apologizing. Nicole listened to the dial tone and the unmistakable message given by a computerized female voice that she wished she never heard.

_ The number you have reached is no longer in service. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still no Waverly and Nicole interactions yet. Sorry, but not sorry.


End file.
